The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 20 declined to halt the extradition of a Japanese citizen with U.S. permanent resident status to Japan to face charges of vandalizing religious buildings.
The new order by the full court comes after Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Dec. 12, 2025, denied a previous emergency application in Kanayama v. Kowal without comment. Because she acted alone on the urgent matter, under Supreme Court rules, the unsuccessful applicant was allowed to present the application to another justice.
The applicant is obstetrician-gynecologist Masahide Kanayama, a lawful U.S. permanent resident and Japanese citizen who is also a Christian missionary. The respondent, Scott Kowal, is chief of United States pretrial services for the Southern District of New York….
Supreme Court Declines to Block Extradition of Japanese Man Accused of Vandalizing Temples
